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Activision Makes Transformers Video Games, So Does Its Biggest Rival
Our intern Joshua Rivera was as disappointed with Activision’s Xbox 360 Transformers: Dark of the Moon video game as I was with the original mold for Galvatron. The Activision game made him feel like a clumsy Autobot. Activision also published PS3, Wii, DS and 3DS games based on this weekend’s Transformers movie. We didn’t test…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 28, 2011 -
Aliens, Arcades, Pulsing Apples: These Are Call of Duty‘s Latest Multiplayer Maps
The Annihilation map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops just hit the Xbox 360 bringing with it four new multiplayer maps and another zombie-killing cooperative adventure. Here’s a quick look at the multiplayer maps Drive-in, Hanger 18, Hazard and Silo. There’s some interesting little things in each of the maps. Hanger 18 seems to…
By Brian Crecente Published June 28, 2011 -
Is Goldeneye Reloaded Just a Fancy Word for Rereleased?
Activision puts nostalgia-loving gamers in their sights once again, gathering a nice list of domain names revolving around something called “Goldeneye Reloaded“. This could mean a number of things are in the works: an HD re-release of Goldeneye for the Wii, an HD remake of the classic N64 Goldeneye, or maybe even a turn as…
By Sam Winstrom Published June 27, 2011 -
Annihilation Map Adds Five More Achievements to Black Ops
“Shangri-La” is the new zombies map in Call of Duty: Black Ops, and it is far from paradise, as that anthropomorphic s’more (above) will attest. Available in Annihilation, releasing next Tuesday for Xbox 360, it offers five more achievements worth a cool 150 Gamerscore. They are: • Time Travel Will Tell (75G)—In Shangri-La, acquire the…
By Owen Good Published June 23, 2011 -
Jamie Kennedy’s Still Sensitive About His Trainwreck of an E3 2007 Hosting Gig, Apparently
Jamie Kennedy, star of Son of the Mask, Malibu’s Most Wanted and Wii game Real Heroes: Firefighter doesn’t always deliver brilliantly inspired performances. See his E3 2007 Activision press conference hosting gig, for example, which he’s still really really sensitive about, according to a recent Twitter tirade. Kennedy, responding to a Twitter exchange between former…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 23, 2011 -
Another Look at Call of Duty: Black Ops ‘Annihilation’ in Action
The third downloadable add-on for Call of Duty: Black Ops, “Annihilation,” hits next week (for Xbox 360, that is), bringing with it four new maps and one new zombie-slaughtering “experience.” Want to see? Watch that video. You’ll get a new peek at those maps—Hangar 18, set in a highly classified military base of Area 51;…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 22, 2011 -
This One Goes Out to All the Ladies
Reader Bondage_Zombie has spent over a decade in video game drag. He’d like this option in more games, but not just for his sake. He thinks that there aren’t enough female gamers out there and it could be the developers’ faults. So what can devs do to bring in the elusive audience? It seems like…
By Sam Winstrom Published June 22, 2011 -
What’s in the New Call of Duty: Black Ops Limited Edition Re-release?
The Call of Duty: Black Ops Limited Edition hits Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 next week at North American retailers, packing in one game and one token for “First Strike” downloadable content that originally hit in February. Cost? $59.99 USD.
By Michael McWhertor Published June 21, 2011 -
Happy (Early) Father’s Day From Prototype 2
Who’s your daddy… or what’s your daddy? Activision sent out these digital Father’s Day cards just in time for the big event this Sunday. Are you prepped for the weekend. I know as a father I expect to be carried around and fanned at all times.
By Brian Crecente Published June 17, 2011 -
A Look at Call of Duty: Black Ops Annihilation in Action
Here’s our first look at the next map pack coming to Call of Duty: Black Ops. In the video we get a quick walk-through of Annihilation’s four maps: Hangar 18, Drive-In, Silo and Hazard. Hanger 18 takes place in Area 51 and is packed with conspiracy-theory Easter Eggs. There’s a nice mix of close quarter…
By Brian Crecente Published June 16, 2011 -
What the Fuck is Bobby Kotick Doing in This Brad Pitt Movie?
This is a trailer for an upcoming Brad Pitt movie called Moneyball. It’s about baseball. And at 0:58, you can see that the owner of the Oakland A’s baseball team is being played by none other than Activision boss Bobby Kotick. Remember, this is a movie about baseball. Not video games. And while it could…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 16, 2011 -
Is the Third Black Ops Map Pack Coming at the End of June?
A tipster sends along that picture of that GameStop poster, advertising Call of Duty: Black Ops‘ third map pack, titled “Annihilation.” June 28 appears to be the release date. The maps are Hangar, Hazard, Silo, Drive-In and another Zombie map. We’ve been hearing that GameStop is taking preorders for the pack. I called mine here…
By Owen Good Published June 15, 2011 -
The Beauty of E3 2011
E3 2011 is over. Kotaku already showed 3,444 blinks from Kotaku‘s E3 2011 photographer, Isaac Viel. Here is a longer look (but with fewer photos) at E3 2011. This isn’t a recap of hardware you’ve already seen, but rather, a window in to what it’s like to actually be there—minus the exhaustion and fatigue. These…
By Brian Ashcraft Published June 14, 2011 -
Modern Warfare 3 Shoots the Lights Out on Jimmy Fallon
As promised, Late Night host Jimmy Fallon has kicked off his video game week with footage of Modern Warfare 3 Sadly, at least for the first part of the clip, there’s not much to see. Much of the singleplayer footage has been seen before, and the audio has been totally washed out by Activision and…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 14, 2011 -
Time Magazine’s First Official Game Tie-In is for…Modern Warfare 3
Time is one of the most storied magazines the world has ever seen, and while its relevance may have dipped somewhat during the internet era, it’s still seen as a respectable publication. So its first ever video game tie-in is a bit of a disappointment. As a marketing stunt for the upcoming Modern Warfare 3,…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 14, 2011 -
The Big Games, Big Gadgets, Big Surprises of E3
The promise of uncompromising gaming on the go, a sexy new console from the makers of the Wii and a robust line-up of must-have, must-play games topped this year’s celebration of all things gaming in Los Angeles last week. This year’s E3 kicked off early last week with a look at what the makers of…
By Brian Crecente Published June 13, 2011 -
Battlefield 3 Reaches Out to 4chan With…Dinosaurs
Why did Modern Warfare 2 on PC suck? Because it didn’t have dinosaurs in it, apparently Fast forward a few years later and rival publisher Electronic Arts figured the dinosaur-loving, PC game-playing demographic was a demographic it could actually go after, inserting a dinosaur prominently in the most mind-blowing clip of E3 2011 then tweeting…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 13, 2011 -
Here, Thirteen Minutes of Modern Warfare 3 Gameplay Footage
Mercifully after the week we’ve had, this extensive gameplay demonstration of Modern Warfare doesn’t need the chit-chat of announcers to kick things off. It’s just straight into the gunplay. Say what you will about the dilapidated state of the series’ story or the impactful departure of some of its key men. Infinity Ward can still…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 10, 2011 -
Activision’s Bobby Kotick Wants to Buy…MySpace
According to “three people familiar with the matter”, Reuters is reporting that a group of investors including none other than Activision boss Bobby “What, Me Worry?” Kotick is in talks to buy dying social networking site MySpace. While the rumoured purchase would be as a private buyer, and not as an Activision acquisition, it’d still…
By Luke Plunkett Published June 9, 2011 -
Activision Boss Refused Sneak Peek of Competitor’s Battlefield 3
According to CVG, Activision CEO wandered by the E3 booth of Battlefield 3, the regicidal threat to his company’s own Call of Duty franchise, for a friendly look at the competition. He was denied. However, Activision says this didn’t happen.
By Joel Johnson Published June 9, 2011